A group of swans flew down to a beach where a crow(乌鸦) was jumping around. The crow watched them with disdain(鄙视).

    "You have no flying skills at all!" he said to the swans. "All you can do is to move your wings. Can you turn over in the air? No, that's beyond you. Let's have a flying competition. I'll show you what real flying is! "

One of the swans, a strong young male, took up the challenge. The crow flew up and began to show his skills. He flew in circles, performed other flying tricks, and then came down and looked proudly at the swan.

    Now it was the swan's turn. He flew up, and began flying over the sea. The crow flew after him, making all kinds of comments(评价) about his flying. They flew on and on till they couldn't see the land and there was nothing but water on all sides. The crow was making fewer and fewer comments. He was now so exhausted that he found it hard to stay in the air, and had to struggle to keep himself from falling into the water.

    The swan pretended(假装) not to notice, and said, "Why do you keep touching the water, brother? Is that another trick? "

    "No," said the crow. He knew he had lost the competition. "I'm in trouble because of my pride! If you don't help me, I'll lose my life…"

The swan took pity on him, and took him on his shoulders and flew back to the beach.

    When I just moved to Los Angeles（洛杉矶）, I didn't have a car.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}, but I wanted to prove（证明）them wrong.

    I asked my neighbor, Mrs. White, to take me to the bus station in the center of the city, so I could try taking the bus home.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}. When I got there, I went inside and got a bus timetable（时刻表）. I looked at the map and worked out that I needed to take three buses to get home.

    I bought the tickets and went outside to wait at the bus stop for the Number 8 bus. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. I gave my ticket to the bus driver and took a seat. At the right stop I got off. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. I waited and waited. A man was also waiting for the same bus. He said that it wasn't unusual for the bus to be late. Half an hour later, it finally came. To make the matter worse, the third bus broke down halfway and the driver had to fix it. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. So when I finally got home, I was very tired. Maybe getting a car in Los Angeles wasn't such a bad idea!

Once there lived an old man in a mountain village. He was a famous hunter. He often went hunting alone in the mountains. He was not afraid of any wild animals, not even a tiger. 

One night, someone saw a tiger come into the village, and stole two sheep away. The next night the tiger came again. The villagers were frightened. They asked the old hunter to catch it so that they could have a safe life. 

When the old man heard about the tiger, he thought hard. He wondered why the tiger came at night twice but only stole the sheep. The next night he walked outside the village. Suddenly he saw the tiger coming. He quickly threw himself on the ground. To his surprise, the tiger did not come at him. But went away. He followed it quietly and found it was running on two of its feet just like a man. Then everything was clear. 

On the fourth day, when it got dark, the hunter took some animal skins with him and hid himself behind a big tree near the village. He was waiting for the" tiger". As soon as the " tiger" came near the tree, the old hunter jumped out, caught the " tiger" by the "leg" and said, " Don't be afraid. I do not mean to hurt you. You know who I am, don't you?"

The " tiger" said " Yes" and took off the tiger's skin. 

"You are poor. But you mustn't steal anything from others. Here are some animal skins for you. You may sell them at the market. With the money, you can buy food and clothes for your family. Work harder and try to make a living. " With tears in his eyes, the poor man thanked the kind-hearted old hunter and walked home.